No. 12 Black Squirrels Beat Swat, Bullets Next

from press release

HAVERFORD, Pa. – Saturday afternoon's 10-6 men's
lacrosse win by No. 12 Haverford College over visiting Centennial
Conference rival Swarthmore College allows the Fords to head into
the postseason league tournament next weekend with momentum gained
from, and within, the victory.

Haverford (11-3, 6-2 CC) raced out to a 5-1 lead over the Garnet
(4-11, 2-6) through the first 15 minutes of action, but the tables
turned drastically in the second quarter.

Swarthmore limited the Fords to just a single shot—with
1:10 left in the quarter—while it rebounded offensively with
three goals to pull within one, 5-4, as the teams headed into the
halftime intermission.

The quarter could have been worse if Haverford goalkeeper Joe
Banno hadn't come up with four saves, and his defensive mates
hadn't kept the Garnet's other seven shots from being clean
attempts directed toward Banno.

Momentum still hung around Swarthmore's neck in the third as
they tied the game at 5-5 on Brendan Conway's goal halfway through
the period. Max Hjelm turned the tide of the game for Haverford,
though, with a pair of goals in span of 127 seconds, which allowed
the offense to escape from a turnover affliction they'd been
suffering from since taking that 5-1 lead early in the contest.

The Fords suffered through 17 turnovers on 18 consecutive
possessions between the fifth goal and Hjelms' score at 2:53 of the
third. In that span Haverford got off only four shots leaving Banno
and the defense to hold down the fort.

Once awakened, the Fords' attack began to gel again as it
outscored Swarthmore 5-1 over the final 18 minutes of the game.

Hjelm and Myles Monaghan finished with a team-high three goals
apiece in the win while four other Fords scored one goal each.

In the defensive third, Banno finished with 17 saves to earn the
victory in goal for Haverford. Defenders Dillon Hamill and Scott
Kelley combined to register eight of the team's 10 caused turnovers
and the Fords held Swarthmore's extra-man opportunities to an
0-for-5 day.

Swarthmore's Jonathan Cohen took the loss after allowing all 10
Haverford goals and making just one save.

The Centennial tournament lies ahead for the Fords who will
enter the playoffs with the No. 3 seed and will take on No. 2
Gettysburg College Friday afternoon in Carlisle, Pa., at host and
regular season champion Dickinson College.